A special event organised by the Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics in association with excellence2012

2012.04.17

Date	Wed 18 Apr
Time	10:15 — 11:30
Location	The Department of Chemistry, Aud. I

“Links between miRNA and membrane biology”

Asc. Professor Peter Brodersen, Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen is recipient of the World Cultural Council 2012 Special Recognition Award.

The lecture will be held at the Department of Chemistry, Aud. I on Wednesday 18 April 10.15 am

microRNAs (miRNAs) are key regulators of eukaryotic gene expression, and have proven to be essential for numerous biological processes such as stem cell maintenance, cellular differentiation, stress adaptation and hormone action. miRNAs are bound to ARGONAUTE (AGO) proteins in RNA induced silencing complexes (RISCs), and use base pairing to recruit RISCs to complementary mRNAs for repression by degradation or translational repression.

Central steps of the miRNA pathway, such as AGO loading with miRNA, and target mRNA recognition, are often viewed as reactions that take place in solution. Meanwhile, early studies identified human AGO2 as the Golgi/ER associated protein GERp95, and several recent reports on plant and animal miRNAs have confirmed the importance of membrane association for AGO function. Our studies in Arabidopsis have shown that defects in isoprenoid biosynthesis have a profound impact on miRNA function, and that defective sterol biosynthesis accounts for part of this reduced miRNA function. We will also discuss the importance of other types of isoprenoid metabolites for miRNA function and membrane association of AGO1.

The lecture will be followed by sandwiches and drinks and a discussion forum for PhD students and post docs.